Norfolk County Council to replace disparate procurement platforms with single £1.5m system

Written by Sam Trendall on 28 July 2017 in News

News

Council seeks a new platform that can work with – but ultimately help replace – its Oracle enterprise resource planning system

The council is set to issue a formal invitation to tender next month

Norfolk County Council is seeking to replace its existing hotchpotch of procurement tools with one overarching software system.

The council has issued a prior information notice outlining its intent to phase out its current set-up, which consists of various different platforms, and implement a single system. The aim is to create cost savings while improving performance and increasing ease of use.

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The notice said: “Norfolk County Council wishes to procure a new, integrated source-to-payment solution that will replace a number of disparate systems with a single solution that reduces total cost of ownership, improves data quality, implements more effective controls, improves reporting and, above all, is easy to use.”

The council added that it requires a system that can, initially, successfully interoperate with its incumbent enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform while, ultimately, facilitating its replacement.

“The system must integrate with the council's Oracle 12 ERP system but make it simple to swap that system out in due course,” said the notice.

The project, which will not be split into lots, has an estimated budget of just under £1.4m, excluding VAT. A formal invitation to tender is expected to be published sometime next month, and the bidding process will be managed via an e-procurement platform.

Nick @ Market Dojo (not verified)

Submitted on 31 July, 2017 - 12:30

I'm surprised that Norfolk are looking for one single system to cater for the full solution, as that really narrows down the field. There are lots of best-of-breed providers out there who could provide market-leading solutions to the specific areas like eTendering, eAuctions, Contract Management, Purchase to Pay etc. Having one solution does create certain advantages such as those mentioned in the article but can also create issues, such as: making it much harder to swap out solutions, complete reliance on the provider meeting contractual obligations, risks associated with single-sourcing, and missing out on best-of-breed innovation & agility. If all organisations took the Norfolk approach then that would be the end to small businesses. Thankfully they don't!